fiddlekitten - Posted - 01/10/2011:  20:53:48

Has anyone read this book?

I've discovered that I'm pretty focussed and narrow-minded musically. I love the southern old time genre and I've been trying to understand why some tunes are so incredibly compelling and make me want to listen over and over especially to particular phrases or even notes, while others - particularly tunes closer to their Celtic roots can leave me cold (no disrespect to my fellow Canadians).

I think there is something more than "taste" at work but I'm not sure what it is. I think there is something in our collective psyche but I'm pretty sure there is a force acting on us as individuals as well. Our genes, our environment, maybe but also something more. I don't mean "Oh, I love that tune, it reminds me of my Dad"...I mean a kind of visceral, involuntary, unbidden longing...it must trigger some kind of brain activity.

Anyway, I'd love to hear about your thoughts on the subject and/or reviews of the book.
Many thanks, CM

FiddleJammer - Posted - 01/10/2011:  21:26:08

I haven't read it yet, but plan to.

I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking about right brain vs left brain function. I think our right brains are thrilled by music, but the words to express that are produced on the left side, in a parallel, but separate, experience.

chippyvan - Posted - 01/10/2011:  21:50:03

I have read this book a few years ago and I found it very interesting and would highly recommend it.
I found myself spouting stuff I read to anyone who would listen for weeks afterwards.

He goes into quite a few different topics on music in different cultures and how some basic concepts stay the same and seem to be wired into us humans.
He also went into the whole "10,000" hrs to become an expert topic in some detail.

ajisai - Posted - 01/11/2011:  05:16:23

I skim-read it a few years ago and found it fascinating. I'd recommend it.

The thing I've been thinking about lately . . . I have access to my son's old duct-taped-together Bose over-the-ear earphones that now only play on one side (but with great sound!) and I find that I really want to listen to the fiddle tunes I'm trying to absorb with my left ear. (Right brain access, right?) But, on the other hand, if I'm listening and trying to play along, I don't mind switching the sound to my right ear. (A more analytical left-brain thing?) There's got to be something going on there, but I'm not sure what.

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 01/11/2011:  07:58:42

They always say if the Southern Appalachian mountains get into ya it's hard to ever get 'em back out again.

Jane Fonda was in KY/TN at one time filming the movie, The Dollmaker (which, by the way, is not a good representation of the very great Appalachian tragic novel as written by Harriet Arnow), and she visited the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, or near Norris, TN. She commented that during her visit through the outdoor museum she felt something like a homesick, longing, kinda feeling (not her exact words... this was back in the early 80s so I can't remember exactly)... anyway, even though she had never been to that part of the country before, had no Appalachian or KY roots or anything, exposure to enough of the mountain culture to attempt to make the movie (which was lousy, unfortunately) seemed to reach something in her and maybe put a little mountain down into her soul.

I don't remember the exact words... just remember it happened. For a while the museum had her exact quote on the back of the little brochure that you got when you went in there.

Those mountains are contagious... I guess the music can be too!

Oops... no, never heard of the book, just babbling out loud from seeing the topic.

Edited by - groundhogpeggy on 01/11/2011 07:59:33

fiddler george - Posted - 01/11/2011:  09:57:38

I imagine Jane Fonda still longs for her buddies in north korea

Lonesome Fiddler - Posted - 01/11/2011:  11:37:09

I haven't come across the book, but I can say that there is something primal to the music that at least most of this forum holds dear. (I don't want to label the music, mostly because I CAN'T label it.)

At the same time, though, a lot of music hits me in the gut. I'm a musical omnivore. Classical music is my foremost passion. Nothing strikes me as deeply as Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Bartok, Tchaikovsky, etc. etc. Early Led Zeppelin makes my knees grow weak. Recently, I've been relentlessly listening to the singles that Dionne Warwick made of Burt Bacharach-Hal David tunes. They're remarkable. Brilliant. Natural and accessible yet unquestionably modern and avant-garde. Johnny Cash, with his simplicity and eloquence.

wormbower - Posted - 01/11/2011:  18:14:25

quote:

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Originally posted by fiddler george

I imagine Jane Fonda still longs for her buddies in north korea

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DougD - Posted - 01/11/2011:  18:31:22

I don't think you need to worry, Paul. I don't think "fiddler george" even has his geography right.

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 01/12/2011:  04:22:44

Well It was viet nam, but my point wasn't Jane Fonda's political life, rather, her comments on her feelings as she absorbed Appalachian culture as much as she could to make the movie. Given all the circumstances and her apology afterward, I thought her name had lost its fizzle as a hot button... maybe not.

fiddlekitten - Posted - 01/12/2011:  08:10:05

Me again...

A fellow I play with just sent me this link from our local paper. It's a synopsis of a study done recently that finds that music does indeed change brain chemistry.
here's the link - vancouversun.com/health/Scient...tory.html

groundhogpeggy - Posted - 01/12/2011:  17:45:30

Interesting... it's nice to know I'm hooked on something good for ya!

InThePines - Posted - 01/17/2011:  11:05:01

I read the book a couple of years ago and highly recommend it. Absolutely fascinating ideas in there.

I think you're on to something with the collective psyche thing. It could have genetic/cultural roots, maybe.

I'm Irish-American, and the ITrad music just grabs onto my soul in a very deep way - it's pretty easy for me to understand that, as it is a direct connection to my culture.

But - I also love OT music, and it has the same soul-grabbing quality. And, I have no roots whatsoever in that part of the country (I'm first-generation american raised in New England).

jonno - Posted - 01/18/2011:  15:35:05

I've read the book 2 times. Seeing this topic reminded me how much I enjoyed it, so it is back on my bedside table for a 3rd reading (maybe more will stick this time...).

Bob L - Posted - 01/21/2011:  13:46:02

Also worth a read is Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. It has a lot of stories illustrating his ideas. I assume the scientific stuff is valid as he's a neurologist. He talks about amusia, a clinical condition where music sounds like clatter, and sudden onset musicophila (love of music), triggered in one case by a lightning strike. Very interesting coverage of how music is part of humans.

Mountainbanjo - Posted - 01/21/2011:  16:57:17

This is my brain on music indeed! I read the first chapter twice, then the second chapter twice, then I went back and read both twice again and I just keep goin round and round and round. Help me, Old Joe Clark, goodbye Betsy Brown, round and round....!

fiddlekitten - Posted - 01/22/2011:  17:09:30

Oliver Sacks is an amazing physician, researcher and writer. Many years ago I read "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat." His stories are anecdotal based on his knowledge, his practice and reflection. Very interesting reading about the oddities that result from damage to various brain centres. They do satisfy that shameful voyeuristic want in us but are also fascinating because they often reveal things that we don't yet fully understand about how our brains work...thanks for the tip on another of his books!

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob L

Also worth a read is Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. It has a lot of stories illustrating his ideas. I assume the scientific stuff is valid as he's a neurologist. He talks about amusia, a clinical condition where music sounds like clatter, and sudden onset musicophila (love of music), triggered in one case by a lightning strike. Very interesting coverage of how music is part of humans.

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Butterfly - Posted - 02/02/2011:  18:13:56

I haven't read the book, but it sounds possible to me. My dad's family (since immigrating from Ireland) lived around Pennsylvania. Could this be why my favorite fiddle styles are bluegrass, old time, and celtic? I would think that some of this may have to do with what we grow up listening to as well.

ssawyer - Posted - 02/02/2011:  19:48:53

FiddleKitten: I read that..."The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" interesting stories about unfortunate physiological circumstances? - one of the stories [my understanding] was about a man who couldn't comprehend/connect types of visual/verbal cues with the actual object- hence the tittle "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat"..he could function though his day- even at work..but something was odd - no one could put their finger on it.... finally his wife took him to a neurologist. the doctor noticed he could perceive only a certain amount of dept perception. some perceptions where blank but the mind made up for it/filled it in as best it could? -a type of amnesia? The amazing part was he could get away with functioning on a daily basis- he mostly lived by rote memory...the biggest tell tale sign for his wife was his temperament changed and he would get angry & sullen..it was a symptom when she thought it was just moods. That's my memory of it. very interesting.